Any NFL draft prospects who are worrying that their name won’t get called next week may be glad to know that they’re in good company, as one of the greatest players in NFL history felt that way many years ago.
Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice says that even though he set receiving records at Mississippi Valley State and was a two-time Division I-AA All-American, he feared before the 1985 NFL draft that he wouldn’t be selected.
“To be honest, I never thought I was going to get drafted,” Rice told Fox News. “I downplayed everything because I didn’t want that disappointment of getting up here and then come down in disappointment if it didn’t happen. A lot of my friends, a lot of people around me, were saying that, ‘Hey, you’re going to get drafted, you’re going to get drafted.’ But you know, I downplayed it and I got drafted by the San Francisco 49ers, and it’s just like something I’ll never forget.”
The 49ers were the defending Super Bowl champions, but they traded up from the end of the first round to the 16th overall pick to take Rice.
“I get the call from the greatest coach ever, Bill Walsh. And it was so cool. Here I am, I’m on the phone and I’m just smiling to myself.” Rice said. “And then after I hung the phone up, I said, ‘Oh my God, they just won the Super Bowl. They just won the Super Bowl against the Miami Dolphins at Stanford University. I’m gonna get a chance to meet [Joe] Montana, Dwight Clark, Ronnie Lott, Roger Craig. All these great players. Oh my God. Where can I fit in?’ But I had to pinch myself, man, and it was a dream come true.”